I am not the petite man you all once knew me to be. I have gained a legit 25-30 pounds since BB. On Saturday, it was the first shorts-wearing weather of the year. So I proudly marched myself over to my drawers to put on some of my trusty shorts. They did not fit me. Not even close. It required an intricate lever and pulley system to even seal them. And once they were closed, they was tighter than a girdle. If I kept them on, I was running the risk of serious injury to my lower abdomen/internal organs/bladder. So I did what any middle aged woman circa 1997 would do in that situation…a Tae Bo workout. I have this old VHS tape of Billy Blanks going to town on some Tae Bo action, so in it went. It wasn’t pretty.

- I've had the pleasure of going to the new Yankee Stadium twice already. I am a bit of a purist and traditionalist when it comes to this stuff, so I wasn't sure how I'd respond to it...but it's really great. It's gorgeous, the amenities are fantastic, and there's an amazing energy and vibe all around the grounds. Every fan is so excited to be there...calling their friends, snapping photos, and smiling. And best of all, the field perspective of watching the game provides a very similar experience to the old park. They have truly captured the best of both worlds.

- For the first time since the Juicer Incident of '08...I juiced. And this time, it was glorious.

- Over Memorial Day weekend, I am heading own to FL for one of my close friend's wedding. But the kicker...I'm performing the ceremony. That's right...I am now Reverend/Minister/Officiant Stein. What an utterly ridiculous concept. I am sure to do something appalling and ruin their big day. So if anyone wants to be married by me, let me know, hahaha.

- I was very sad to lose a pal and a confidant in Bea Arthur. She was one of the first ladies of modern comedy as we know it. We'll always be bosom buddies. Thank you for being a friend. Yes, I am consciously trying to use as many Bea references as possible on this very Maude-lin day.

- So I'd be remiss to not speak about this swine flu lunacy, which is all the rage right now. We’ve survived bird flu, mad cow disease, SARS, and countless other alleged pandemics and amazingly, they all went away one week later. I mean, have you heard of anybody suffering from mad cow disease in the past 10 years? The media should be ashamed for how badly they are playing this up and the public should be ashamed for buying into it. First off, this is like a glorified flu. Secondly, one person has died from it thus far nationwide. Roughly 125 people per day die in the USA from car accidents. Does that mean you won’t drive your cars anymore? The people walking around with masks on their faces really deserve a swift kick to the balls. And then, they should all be punished with a case of swine flu. The deserve it. (please note, that this rant pretty much guarantees that I will succumb to swine flu by the week's end)

- Since Siegfried and Roy have officially had their farewell performance, I feel there is a void in the Las Vegas performance scene. Hence, I have formed a vaudeville act with Montecore the tiger. We are going into rehearsals immediately.

- I still haven't found that elusive bitch Carmen Sandiego. If you wanna see me mortify myself (which most of you do), go to youtube...you can find my appearance on Carmen Sandiego from a million years ago. Ironically, my boy NPH appears in my episode...who knew we'd be reunited at the Tanksgiving Day Parade 16 years later? Small world. Please re-read this paragraph, only this time pretend that it is being sung by Rockapella.

- Doing laundry is very taxing. I don't know how some people have the energy to do it daily for their entire families. I do it once every 6-8 weeks and it takes a lot out of me.

- I absolutely f'n love the NFL Draft! Love it! It is one of my favorite days of the year. And my Jets sure made things interesting this past weekend. While trading up for Sanchez would not have been my first choice, I am very pleased by their aggressive approach to getting the players that they targeted. Shonn Greene's power running will be the perfect future compliment to Leon Washington and in an ideal world, Sanchez can be our starting QB for the next 10-15 years. Knowing that they could have stayed put and drafted Maclin, Beanie, or Freeman...I would have stood pat at 17, but if Sanchez was their guy, they surely didn't have to give up too much to get him. I'm excited by the possibilities...but I'd describe my overall assessment as cautiously optimistic.

- My friends and I went to the circus. We were undoubtedly the only drunken adults, sans children in the entire establishment. I was deeply disappointed to find out that they no longer sell those fiber optic, light-up wands thingies. They had things like it - but it's not the same. Also, my cotton candy cost $12...but it came with a felt hat...so it was well worth it.

- For the first time ever The Amazing Race, Apprentice, and Survivor finales are all taking place in NYC over the same one week period. I smell some reality folk hijinks a-brewin'.

- This update on the life and times of young Eric Stein has been brought to you by the good people at Imodium.....helping you ride the wave 'til you reach your next roadside restroom.

*** ORDER YOUR TICKETS BEFORE MAY 8th for a chance to see me in my big screen debut. I will be in attendance, so come out and root me on and we will have a drink. All ticket orders prior to May 8th will help THE MANDALA MAKER become the featured short film on the opening night of the festival. Hence, for those of you who purchase prior to that date...I will throw in an autograph, a high five, a beer, or some such acknowledge of your contributions. Plus you'll get to meet me! Tix are cheaper than a regular movie and it enables you to see a bunch. Here's the scoop (check out all of our nominations...great stuff!)

Hellllllloooooo. If you remember, I was lucky enough to film a supporting role in a short film, "The Mandala Maker" written and directed by Sam Borowski. The amazing cast includes actors such as Daniel Roebuck ("Lost," "Matlock," "Halloween," "Nash Bridges"), Tony Award winner and Emmy nominee Terrence Mann, Yangzom Brauen ("Aeon Flux"), and yours truly.

Well great news to report! The New York Premiere of THE MANDALA MAKER has been announced and it comes in conjunction with a host of honors for the film. THE MANDALA MAKER received a whopping SIX NOMINATIONS yesterday during the 2009 SINY Film Festival Press Conference held at the Hilton Garden Inn in Corporate Park, Staten Island.

Nominated for BEST DRAMATIC SHORT (Producer Sam Borowski, Associate Producers Rob Pralgo, Robin Anne Phipps and Bryan Williams), which is akin to BEST PICTURE for features, it also garnered nominations for BEST SHORT SCREENPLAY (Sam Borowski and Gregory Nissen) and BEST S.I. LOCAL FILM. Additionally, it also was nominated for three awards normally held for feature films - BEST DIRECTOR (Sam Borowski), BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY (Bill Schweikart) and BEST ACTRESS (Courtney Hogan). With Audience Choice Awards and a special musical programbeing announced on awards night, there is a chance for THE MANDALA MAKER to snag even more awards.

If you would like to see THE MANDALA MAKER at the 2009 SINY Film Festival, it is playing Friday Night June 5, at 7 p.m. in the CSI Lecture Hall Theater and the next day, Saturday, June 6 at 5 p.m. in the CSI Williamson Theater.

Steven just posted his first blog since returning to Iraq.....best article I've ever read from him and it's quite scary.....I'm worried and won't relax until he returns back to USA safely!

An interesting story or potential for Disaster?

So you probably know from my status updates that I am currently in Iraq for work. Tonight I had a very sobering reality check that I thought I would share.

Tonight my coworkers and I had a dinner with some high ranking Iraqi Air Force military. The Iraqi airmen are guys that we work with on a regular basis here and I have gotten to know on a personal level, they are incredible men that have faced many hardships and tragedies over the years but are incredibly friendly, hospitable and have some amazing stories that they like to share. During our traditional Iraqi dinner the topic of American TV shows came up and it turns out that they love many of our programs specifically Reality TV. One of my team members thought it would be fun to tell them that I had been on the show Big Brother and began to tell the story when our Team Lead quickly changed the subject and basically stoped the story from being told. I understood why, if the Iraqi men did any research they might find out that I am gay which is completely not acceptable in the culture here. Again, I completely understood this and was a bit relieved that the whole subject wasn't discussed. What had not crossed my mind was the potential for disaster if the facts of my personal life were revealed in this environment. Here is why: There is a new agreement that has just gone into affect here in this country that deals with civilian contractors working for the US military. Basically under the agreement any civilian here is completely subject to Iraqi law while in the country, even while residing on a US military installation. Although I don't know the exact wording of the law, basically it is illegal to be a homo***ual in this country and any accused can be jailed and from what I understand even executed for this "crime". Had it gotten out to the Iraqi gentlemen that we work with, if they choose to, they could have the Iraqi police come into the US military installation and arrest me. I would like to believe that these men have become my friend and would never do this to me, but I still have to sit back and wonder what if. Suppose they have strong feelings against homo***uality and decided it was best to report me, I could potentially be locked up here and prosecuted for simply being who I am, even if I was never actually caught in a homo***ual act (not that I am getting any here).

This makes me so thankful that I live in a country where I am free to be exactly who I wanna be. We are such a lucky people and we should never take for granite the freedoms that we have. Even though we are still fighting for some equal rights, such as marriage, we have to all realize that we could have it so much worse. I would ask that everyone reading this please take a few minutes and find a way to express your gratitude to our politicians that continue to pursue equality for everyone in our country regardless of race, gender or ***ual orientation. In addition, find a way to thank the military personal that put their life on the line to uphold our freedoms and way of life. As Americans we are truley a blessed people and need to remember this everyday of our lives.

Steven updated his blog that I posted yesterday and added this.....makes me grateful I live in USA!

UPDATE:

Found the Following on Wikipedia this morning concerning Homo***uality in Iraq, it literally made me sick to my stomach..

2009

In April 2009, it was reported that Iraqi militants were gluing shut the anuses of men suspected of being gay. The glue being used is an Iranian-manufactured glue that if applied to the skin, sticks to it and can only be removed by surgery. After the anus is glued shut, the person is given a drink that causes diarrhea. Since the anus is closed, the diarrhea causes death. Videos of this torture have been circulating throughout the country via cellphones.[11]

Also in April 2009, it was reported that a new gang calling itself the "righteous people” began attacking young men who it says are violating Islamic law by "behaving like women". The "righteous people" distributed three lists in Baghdad’s Sadr City containing the names of ten people they considered homo***ual. The lists declared, "Sinner: we will doom you." Other slogans written in red on the city’s walls threatened the men with death and torture. Security officials found three torture-ridden corpses of gay men in Sadr, Dawra and Karadah areas of Baghdad. Their killers were not identified. Al-Baghdadiya, a satellite television channel based in Cairo and one of the few media outlets to have reported the attacks, broadcast a report on 7 April saying that twenty young men accused of homo***uality were taken to Ibn al-Nafis hospital in Baghdad with mutilated genitals. A number of citizens who have witnessed attacks on young men say that officials and the media did nothing to stop or report the incidents despite the fact that the attacks represent a flagrant violation of personal rights and individual freedoms guaranteed by the country’s constitution. Some of these attacks are even said to be carried out by the security forces themselves. One eye-witness said that "a police patrol in Shaab district, north east of Baghdad, stopped two young men "behaving like women" in mid March and forced them to take-off their clothes in front of other passers-by and made fun of them and their naked bodies."[12]

Lots of people sent comments to Steven's blog expressing their concerns about him being in Iraq...I sent one as well and he posted a comment for his readers....

Thanks for all the comments, I am being safe and there should be no issues as long as I keep my "identity" safe. I am not worried about anyone here reading my blog, the small amount of Iraqi military that I interact with aren't going to be googling me or anything like that. I will keep my head down and my mouth shut and be home before I know it Please keep the comments coming and I would love for people to pass on my blog, I think it says a lot and would love to have my experience shared with as many as possible. Thanks to Everyone!

You know the excitement that you get when you hear the Ice Cream Man driving down your block on a warm summer's day? Well, multiply that feeling by 100 and that's what you have right here. I don't think it'd be going too far to call today "Christmas in May." And the reason? I, Eric Stein, am bringing my expertise to Realitywanted.com. For those of you who aren't familiar with me...you've been missing out...but here's the scoop. I was America's Player on Big Brother 8. Without exaggeration, it may have very well been one of the biggest, season-long individual twists in reality TV history. Since I like exaggeration though...let's call it positively, undoubtedly, the premier, number one, heavyweight champion of reality TV twists. The only other thing you really need to know about me is that I am one of the 25 biggest wastes of potential in this entire country. I am lazy, highly unmotivated, and value relaxation above and beyond all else. That commitment to nothingness has allowed me to become one of the preeminent, be all end all authorities on all things reality TV. If you don't believe me, read on. Since it's finale week for many of the reality big boys, let's get right down to business.

SURVIVORIf you say something adamantly enough and continue to repeat it, does it eventually become the truth? Debbie and Coach have been suffering from what I like to call "liar's denial." Their indignant quests for the truth have been one of the most fascinating aspects of the show in recent weeks. Debbie went off on Sierra, citing "I am a 46 year old woman...I don't need to deal with a lying, 23 year old girl." Ironically, Debbie was lying through her teeth at the time. Don't get me wrong...I love liars. However, I don't like liars who don't think they are lying. And they seem to have deluded themselves into believing they are speaking the truth. Speaking of Coach, he is an excellent character...but he's a terrible player. He is transparent and mistakenly believes himself to be in control of a game that he lost control of weeks ago. Talk about Captain Delusional!

With Debbie's ouster, Taj/Stephen/JT have secured themselves as the final 3. It's a rare season of Survivor in which the three people who played the best games make it to the end...but I believe that is what we have here. By instigating a scenario in which the original Timbura members turned on each other at the merge, they took complete control of the game. That said...I don't believe that they have played the perfect game these past few weeks. In Big Brother, you need to hedge your bets because your enemy has the chance of becoming the next Head of Household or winning the Power of Veto. However, Survivor is purely a numbers game...so once you take control, there is no need to play both sides anymore. In turn, why would you target Sierra (a weak individual) before you'd target Debbie/Coach (a strong duo)? By stringing them along, all they've done is made their ultimate blindsides pointlessly aggressive. Nonetheless, they are going to be your final 3 and a deserving one at that. While Stephen and Taj will be able to better articulate their claims to the title, look for JT to take home the victory. His combination of perceived challenge skills and perceived likeability will result in the jury rewarding him.

THE CELEBRITY APPRENTICEThe dream showdown! Joan "The World's #1 Comedian...and London's Too" Rivers vs. Annie "The Whore Pit Viper Hitler" Duke in a battle for supremacy. This is a prizefight that I would buy on Pay Per View. As Brandy Roderick would say..."Holy S-R-A-P." Much like Survivor and the soon to be discussed Amazing Race, the brilliance of this reality TV season is that the best of the best are battling it out in the end (which is oh so very rare in the reality TV landscape). I do have some complaints about this week's episode though. Why did we have to rush the final 5 to a final 2 in one episode? We've invested so much time into this as viewers, why would we want to plow through the most important part of the game? Also, I take exception to the notion that Jessie James should be fired because he didn't enlist his wife's services. I mean if she cut a $100,000 check to charity, would he automatically win the game? At the same time, his repeated insistence that he's merely a blue-collar guy is absurd as well. The man owns a company with 500 employees, has TV shows galore, magazines, and is married to a woman who earns $20 million per film. Sure, he may have a blue-collar mentality, but let's not go crazy here Jessie. This is the one finale that I'm truly torn about the outcome. Joan Rivers has proven to be extremely talented and quick-witted...we'd be grossly wrong to count her out. Annie profiles very similarly to last year's winner, Piers Morgan. I think that they should put them into a Thunderdome and have them fight to the death to declare a winner. Cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck...SPLASH!

THE AMAZING RACEThis week brought us the most ludicrous elimination in the history of the show, as Jen cost her team a chance at the prize by taking a bathroom break. Um, whaaaaaaa?!?!? This is completely mortifying and inexplicable. You're not racing for $20 and a high five...this is a race for a million dollars! You better be damn certain that I would wet myself for a million dollars. Are you kidding me? Hell, I'd probably do it for $300, haha. They were even wearing some long flowing gowns...nobody would be the wiser. How about a cup? The floor of the cab? Or how about being a big girl and holding it for 5 more minutes and then going at the rest stop?!? This was astounding. There is NO WAY that I would have ever allowed my partner to do that. Jen, you should be ashamed of yourself. By the way, can't wait to meet you this weekend - hope you haven't read this article by then, haha.

Otherwise, this has been a high-quality, bounce back season for the race. There were several inspired casting choices that allowed for us to pick favorites to get behind. From the endearing Mel & Mike, to the boundlessly energetic Mark & Michael, to the "sinister deaf kid" Luke...there was something for everybody. Once again, I believe that the two best teams will be finishing one and two. How refreshing! Whether you love him or hate him, you have to give it to Luke & Margie. They are at a decided disadvantage, as Margie needs to do all of the driving for her team and Luke is unable to communicate directions to her while her eyes are on the road. There's no doubting that they have been front-runners from the beginning, along with Victor & Tammy. Tammy has to be one of the most down to Earth, levelheaded contestants to ever appear on the race. Combine that quality with their overt intelligence and their travel experience, and Victor and Tammy are going to be your winners.

THE BIGGEST LOSERAnother bounce back season, with MUCH more weight to lose and MUCH more likable characters. Last season it became a dastardly game with the vile henchmen Vicki & Heba running the show. Thankfully, this season we had the likes of Kristen who had the perfect perspective on the process and Tara, who has whooped the boys' butts for weeks on end. I've heard a lot of people referring to Ron as a manipulative villain. I couldn't disagree more. See, there are three types of reality TV players. Those who solely make for good TV, those who are there to play the game and not to make good TV, and those who do both. Put yourself in Ron's shoes. Their health and a whole lotta cash is on the line. Wouldn't you do anything within you power to help your own child succeed? Ron is doing what any good father would do in this situation and he's done it well. I can assure you, he could care less what the public opinion of him is, so long as Mikey wins the game. Last year, America blatantly disregarded Heba & Ed's plea to advance her into the final 3. Do not look for a repeat of that this year. America is going to vote Mikey into the final 3 and Mikey is going to deservedly win the game.

AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODELI hate Tyra Banks. She is right on the top of my "5 Celebrities I'd Like To Punch" list. She is beyond fake, unnatural, patronizing, and permanently up on her soapbox. She drives me insane. Why did they cast the 25-year-old Celia on the show, if they were simply going to hold it against her the entire season anyway? Once she was cast, they should have dropped the age issue...or why have her in the first place? Also, Natalie was completely screw-jobbed. She was the deserving winner of this show and Tyra just seemed to personally dislike her. Man, she was so hot it makes me want to cry. Although she is the remaining contestant that I'd most like to have lunch with, Allison has no chance of winning...she can barely even walk. Aminat certainly is the most modelesque of the finalists, but she's struggled with the basic model fundamentals since the beginning. That leaves us with Teyona, who has been solid throughout but doesn't quite possess the born-in looks that Aminat possess. It's a coin toss between the two...if forced to pick, I'll go with Teyona for the win.

AMERICAN IDOLIn my estimation, Adam Lambert is in a class of his own. From day one, he has just been on a completely different plane of ability from the other singers. Don't get me wrong, Kris Allen and Danny Gokey are very talented guys, but I have friends who I go to karaoke with who sing as well as they do. On the other hand, Adam is a total world beater...he's an elite talent. On pure vocal ability, Adam has joined Clay Aiken as the strongest male singers to ever appear on the show. Ultimately, I am hoping that talent will win out...although America has seemingly had a love affair with The Gokey since day one, so neither result would surprise me. Kris Allen has been a great story. With absolutely no screen time in the audition rounds, he has gone on an unlikely run to the top. It reminds me of Elliott Yamin's underdog run from a few years back. And much like Yamin, he should go on to have a very solid career from the three hole. I'd also like to note that I have designs on becoming Megan Joy's second husband. I loved her quirk. And her extreme hotness. Hell, I was so enamored with her...I even loved her voice.

I LOVE MONEY 2This was a GREAT show! I'd call it my guilty pleasure, but my love affair with this show goes well beyond that. Much like season 1, this show is just absolutely an instant classic. There is something about a group of not the smartest people competing in a high stakes mental game. And somehow, they manage to pull off some really genius moments of strategy. It (the man, not the pronoun) was hilarious. The Entertainer always brings great television (he's another Coach...awesome character, not so awesome player). However, kudos to Tailor Made who is that rare breed who manages to juggle his role as a great player, while still managing to be a great character. He played a brilliant game. I loved how he teamed up with It, who actually stole his flowers and took credit for buying them on I Love NY 2. Let bygones, be bygones, haha. The one thing that disappoints me about the show is that it's predominantly a mental game, which is ultimately decided by a predominantly physical final challenge. In turn, the person who dominated the entire game did not win in the end.

HELL'S KITCHENNot much to say about this really. I predict Paula for the win. Kudos to Danny though, whose girlfriend is way hotter than I would have ever expected her to be. Trust me, I can really appreciate reality TV stars that date over their heads. Gotta love "The Velvet Hammer." Haha.

TOUGH LOVEWas there ultimately any point to this show? Not a single relationship ultimately came out of it. Considering that was the entire point of the show, that doesn't make Steve a very good matchmaker, now does it?

NEW YORK GOES TO WORKI've seen this show before...it's called The Simple Life. Do they think we are so dumb that we have forgotten that already? It even has that very same scripted, half-reality quality that was so prevalent on The Simple Life. Having been through America's voting ringer, the one thing that I can guarantee is that the viewers will always pick the worst option of the three for her. You'd think I'd be sympathetic to that, but actually I just take solace in knowing that other people have to go through it like I did.

THE ULTIMATE FIGHTERUltimate irony this week on The Ultimate Fighter. A fighter was offered a $100 bonus from his teammate if he knocked out his opponent's tooth during their fight. Guess what? His opponent knocked out his teeth instead. Whoops. Serves him right.

REALITY BITES*The best sound bytes from this week in reality television*

"I grew out my big toe for 6 months...and then someone came along with vicious, malicious intent and they cut those toenails. And that is why I had to do what was right and call him into the Duel." -Real World/Road Rules Challenge's Isaac on why he called Landon into the Duel

"Apparently, his testicles are bleeding. I'm sorry, there's no way to sugar coat that one...his testicles are bleeding." Make Me a Supermodel's Sandhurst commenting on a manscaping incident on set

"I'm not afraid to put on my assertive panties to get things done." Andrea on Hell's Kitchen

"Yes, I do regret it...cause she doesn't have a mustache." The Celebrity Apprentice's Joan Rivers on whether or not she regrets calling a fellow contestant Hitler

"I feel like a crack head in the Crack Olympics or somethin'." and "I'm not gonna run across that things even if I had wings." - An incoherent IT sharing his thoughts on the competition on I Love Money 2

"Okay, so we won't have the World's #1 Comedian...London's too...do any comedy. I'll just walk across like Helen Keller would have." -The Celebrity Apprentice's Joan Rivers trying to sell project manager, Clint Black, on why she should be allowed to say "cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck...SPLASH!" during their presentation.

Man, sometimes I just love my life. It's all too easy to embrace my inner, jaded New Yorker and resort to a life of complete bitterness. Yet sometimes even I have to sit back and appreciate the good fortune that shines down upon me. And these past few weeks have been glorious. And why do you find me grinning like a school girl, skipping through the meadows, and pooping rainbows of joy? No, it's not because I was naked in the ocean this past weekend. I mean, I was...but, I digress. It's actually the same reason as all of you...reality TV finales! We've had everything under the sun, including Hitler in the boardroom, mud-covered weaves flying down the runway, dragon slayers, women who look like dragons (cough cough, Lacey from Hell's Kitchen), and about five too many rounds of Jager bombs at 4:30 AM at the finale parties. It's been epic. By the way, to pat myself on the back (why do people say "not to pat myself on the back"? I mean, clearly, if you are touting your own successes…you are doing it to indeed pat yourself on the back)...I predicted Joan Rivers, Victor & Tammy, Teyona, and JT to win their respective shows in my last column. Please send me gold stars and freshly baked cookies. Let's get down to business.

AMERICAN IDOLWhile the final vote itself was not, I would say that if you look at the season at large from start to finish...this is the single biggest upset in reality TV history. Kris had absolutely no time during the audition and semifinal rounds. At the top of the final 36 or even the top 13, this result was almost unfathomable. The thing is, I like Kris. I almost like him a lot. For me personally, he was my 4th favorite Idol this season (after Adam, Scott, and Megan) in terms of whom I'd root on for the win. I think he is rock solid, humble, sincere, and likable. He impressed with his arrangements and his music is certainly viable in today's market. The problem is...Adam is an ELITE talent. He's a once a decade talent. He is at the level of Freddie Mercury/Steven Tyler/Mick Jagger/David Bowie etc. Look no further than their rendition of "We Are The Champions" on finale night....Kris sounded good...Adam outright slayed it. Kris played a college campus style jam with Keith Urban, while Adam fronted an arena rock show with KISS. I will spare you all of my grandstanding, but let's just say I spent most of that night ranting and raving about the frightening state of America after this vote. I'm tempted to call Adam to offer him my sympathies, as someone who went through America's voting ringer.

I run an Idol pool every year amongst friends, family, and reality stars/journalists/executives. Our initial overall average predictions had Kris coming in tenth place. Yes, going home in week 4. Also, I've been running this pool for a solid 4 seasons now and for the first time ever, out of every participant...not a single one of us correctly predicted the winner of the show. Between us, we selected EIGHT potential winners (Adam, Danny, Lil, Scott, Sarver, Alexis, Anoop, Allison)....and not a single vote was cast for Kris to win. Wow.

Again though, Adam's greatness should not diminish Kris. This is beyond apples and oranges. If both men are at the top of their genres, it becomes for of an issue of personal preference than anything. I mean, how could you compare Kanye West vs. Paul Simon? Or Norah Jones vs. Fred Durtz? When artists are polar opposites, but both excel at what they do, what do you do with that? I'd say that this is the first time that this concept has truly applied to the finale. However, we all know that when we look back this will be another Ruben/Clay or Daughtry/Taylor situation, as Adam is going to go on to have a major, major career. I actually hope Kris does too.

THE AMAZING RACE

I had the pleasure of spending the night before the finale with the cast of the Race. As a whole, they were an extremely likable group of individuals. Not only were they very friendly, but also many of them were extremely well spoken and far more put together than the average reality TV participant. They also all were ridiculously attractive and ridiculously tall, haha. This was a top-notch group of people. My biggest objection to the finale is that the final leg needs to be the longest leg of the race, not the shortest leg. After weeks of racing, it should not simply come down to whose cab driver is the fastest. In fact, I think cabs should not even be a form of transportation on the final leg. They should live and die by their own navigation skills. I know that the producers set it up this way by design to try to fabricate a close ending, but honestly I'd far rather see them fight it out fairly over the course of several events even if the end result is that one team wins by a landslide. I really felt for Luke. As an avid reality TV lover, this was undoubtedly a dream come true for him and he's going to live with the burden of his puzzle-solving failures for a long time to come. I sincerely hope he doesn't let that overshadow the wildly impressive nature of the rest of his experience on the show.

AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL

Who cares? Will anyone ever see Teyona again aside from the Cover Girl commercials that only air during next year's show? I'm excited for next season, as all of the models are going to be 5'7" and shorter! Finally some Top Model contestants that I can actually hit on without being totally emasculated, hahaha.

THE BIGGEST LOSER

Wow! Major, major, major upsets here! If anybody put money down on a quiniela, perfecta, or exacta on Jerry to win the at home prize and Helen to win the show, just won themselves some very serious money. I guess it's probably not PC to refer to horse gambling when referring to these contestants, but oh well. I was AMAZED by what Jerry did. Not only was he the oldest contestant, but also he was only on the ranch very briefly, meaning he lost 177 almost entirely on his own. The man nearly died on the first days of workouts! I was delighted for him. And Helen! Holy cabooses! Tara was the percentage leader prior to heading home and was a challenge dominator all season long. Michael was the all-time weight loss leader on the ranch. Yet Helen scored the highest percentage of weight loss at home and pulled off a major shocker. The fact that they all lost over 52.72% of their weight is remarkable. An interesting note is that Ron (who didn't even make the final ultimately) actually lost the most weight (by almost 10 pounds) during the period of time that the four potential finalists were sent home prior to the finale. Aubrey actually gained 3 pounds in her time at home - what a waste. I'd like to go on next season to show people like her up. I figure I'm roughly 165 pounds. In order to win, I would have to lose 54.5%. So I need to get down to 89.925 lbs for the win. Think I can manage that without being hospitalized? I'd be sure to have some impressive abs, as you'd actually be able to make out my internal organs!

SURVIVOR

For the first time in 18 seasons of Survivor, the winner not only never had a vote cast against him all season, but also won a unanimous final vote. Then again, Stephen only had one throwaway vote cast against him all season as well. That immediately elicits two responses. First...they played an amazing game. Second...how in the heck did the other players let this happen? JT ad Stephen DOMINATED this game. Look no further than the dynamic at the final five. All three of Coach, Taj, and Erinn were not only planning on, but relying on going to the final 3 with them. This was a royal butt-whoopin' extraordinaire. It is my understanding that after going home and watching the season, several of the jury members would have changed their votes in Stephen's favor. Yet, that really makes zero difference (other than to cause the runner-up greater aggravation), as it's only the perception at the time that matters. Stephen made one very compelling argument in the final tribal council. He stated that he cast a vote to evict every single one of the jury members (once again, it's tough to separate the two, as JT voted to evict all but one of them as well). That is VERY impressive. That means he was on the right side of every vote from the halfway point on. The blood was on his hands. I strongly believe that argument should have carried a little more weight.

I had the pleasure of spending most of the finale weekend with cast members past and present. I'm not a narc, so I'm not going to spill anything too juicy...sorry, I'm just not that guy. Here’s a brief overview though. One of the most fascinating elements was being able to watch the finale with several past players. Hearing their game play assessments, along with their rooting interests made the entire experience far more riveting. Aside from that, we had a ridiculously good time on both Saturday and Sunday night. The thing about reality TV stars is that we are all a bunch of crazies. You have to figure, thousands of people apply...so good/bad or in between, there's a reason that these people get selected to appear on the shows. Love them or hate them, they are interesting, multi-dimensional people who love to have a good time. In addition to a regular who's who of Survivors, we were joined by All Stars from Big Brother and Amazing Race, winners from Beauty and the Geek and Momma's Boys, I Love New Yorkers, and many more. You know you've had a good weekend when 5 AM is your early night.

THE CELEBRITY APPRENTICE

I believe that a common theme amongst many of this week's finales was that we really couldn't go wrong. This is the first reality TV season in ages that show after show found us with the two most deserving players battling it out in the end. Sure, you may have been on Team Joan or Team Annie, but you can't argue that the season's most compelling, entertaining, and deserving characters battled it out in the end. One interesting note is that at the end of the day, although Joan won, Annie actually ended up making far more money for her charity. The honest truth is there were no losers here, as massive amounts of money poured into some great charities. As he was luring people onto their bus to buy Cirque de Soleil tickets Tom Green had the quote of the finale season. "Excuse me, young man...hop in the bus, we've got some candy for you." Gotta love lecherous behavior.

So where do we go from here? Do we run the risk of crashing into a major depression now that all of these seasons are through? Never! That is the beauty of reality TV - it never ends! We still have The Duel 2, Make Me a Supermodel, The Ultimate Fighter ongoing; So You Think You Can Dance, Hitched or Ditched, Here Come the Newlyweds, and The Bachelorette have all begun already; and I'm A Celebrity Get Me Outta Here, America's Got Talent, Big Brother, Top Chef Masters, Next Food Network Star, and plenty of others on the horizon. It's an unlimited supply and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Steven is safely back home in Dallas after a month long stint in Iraq. He left Iraq and went to Baghdad and stopped over in London before heading back home to good ole' USA! He celebrated his 36th birthday in London last weekend (his bday was Sunday the 24th) and here's a few pictures from London! BTW, Happy birthday, Steven!

Steven and his best friend, Rick who flew out to London to celebrate his birthday

Steven and his special friend, Filippe that he met while in London

Steven standing by the car that he drove around and said it was scary....keep in mind, you drive opposite side in england

The next three pictures are taken at the park in London on Steven's birthday!

ED posted a new blog last night on his myspace page saying that there will be no House Calls this year, due to lack of sponsorship. The blog is pretty long so I didn't paste it in here, but if you want I can. He added that he will be doing his Real Player show, supposedly focused more on BB this year.